From: Chad Perrin <code@...>
Date: 2012-12-18T13:16:38+09:00
Subject: Re: Wondering About Flatiron School

On Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 07:35:48AM +0900, Kevin Y. wrote:
> Chad Perrin wrote in post #1089291:
> >
> > Keep in mind, though, that many employers simply will not hire anyone
> > without a college degree.  A lot of those say they'll hire without a
> > degree if you have "equivalent" experience, but mostly (even if they
> > believe it) they don't really mean it deep down inside.  Exceptions
> > tend to be made for people who are "rock stars" (e.g. someone hiring
> > for Ruby on Rails might not turn down DHH even if he didn't have a
> > degree), but most of us aren't famous that way.
> 
> Is that really true that employers will not hire a candidate without
> programming related degree? I know at least two people who went to fine
> art programs and one is doing very well as an iOS app developer and the
> other something else I do not know at this moment. Also I attended few
> SkillShare courses that are taught by professional programmers who were
> self-taught and they definitely did not think that college degrees are
> necessary as long as your work reflects certain level of skill. There
> wasn't any conflict of interests as those classes were free.

Note three things:

1. I did not say a "programming related" degree.  I just said a "college"
degree.  My significant other has been working in software fields for
years on the strength of psychology and biology degrees (not in psych or
bio related software, mind you) in addition to her skills and experience
working her way up from entry level.  Regardless of her experience,
excellent recommendations, and kills, she almost certainly would not have
her current job if not for at least one of those degrees or some other
(at least four-year) degree to replace them.

2. Without a degree, "equivalent" experience may apply, as I mentioned.
This is largely only available to "rockstars" or (as I should have
mentioned, but unfortunately did not) people who are grandfathered in by
virtue of having more years of professional work in the field than many
college graduates have been alive.

3. My DHH example was intentionally extreme.  Lesser "rockstars" exist,
like people who've made iOS apps on their own time that have been bought
by enough users that it raises a hiring manager's eyebrows.  Mere skill
is not enough in the general job market.

There are exceptions to every generalization, including mine, but they
are called exceptions precisely because they are exceptional in some way.

-- 
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]